When will our injuries ease up

[bauhaus]

Injuries galore, and another bad sounding one for Johnny Hayes tonight. Anyone know how long they are out for. Where was Greg Tansey tonight, if he is injured I must have missed that, and does Tel like this cup, as we bowed out meakly last year too - even if it was a weaker team against the tic

[kencar]

How many of the injured players would actually play if available? By my reckoning maybe 3!! Obviously if we have lost Hayes for any period of time that's a blow but he hasn't been in the best of form either

[CaleyD]

It's not just about which players would come in to the current squad, it's about having players available and creating competition for places to keep them focused.

[Renegade]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wonder if the training is the reason for so many injuries. Now, I'm no expert on fitness coaching but perhaps there are procedures and things they are doing every day that are detrimental to their condition.

Now, this is where a possible new signing could come in. There is a well known fitness coach named Steve Black who is widely regarded as one of the best coaches and motivators in the world. He's worked with Sunderland, Newcastle, Huddersfield, the Welsh rugby team and most notably he's credited with training Johnny Wilkinson, along with many others. Apparently his injury record at Huddersfield was one of the best in the game and is supposedly due to some of his "revolutionary" ideas to fitness. Perhaps making a move at signing him, would be better than any player.

[CaleyD]

What do you do differently in training to prevent someone dislocating a shoulder in a fall?

Also your Wilkinson example...not the best...despite his success he is/was one of the most injury prone players in the game.

[Renegade]

What do you do differently in training to prevent someone dislocating a shoulder in a fall?

Also your Wilkinson example...not the best...despite his success he is/was one of the most injury prone players in the game.

Of course a dislocated shoulder is one of these things that only come now and again and can't really be helped (Wyness was perhaps the last - he and Dargo had it at the same time IIRC in '06/07), but Black's record for "regular" football injuries (muscle tears etc) is apparently second to none. Some also seem to be saying that confidence doesn't seem too high at ICT right now - this is the kind of man who could motivate them better than anyone.

On the Wilkinson example - while you are correct, presumably you're more likely to get these sorts of injuries in rugby than in football - but he has credited Black with turning him into a World Cup winner.

[+MrCaleyjag]

I tend to agree with Renegade on the whole with his suggestion about players possibly not being trained properly and thus resulting in injuries. A dislocated shoulder can't be put down to that but a players conditioning and fitness has a lot to do with the type of injuries they will be more suseptable to. Their recovery would also come under this as well and we may well be rushing players back to early.

As well as this we have a lot of players who need to bulk up and work on their upper body strength, I see no obvious sign of prgression with these players on this front. Nick Ross and Jonny Hayes are just two that spring to mind as being knocked off the ball far too easily, against Aberdeen Jonny went down at least three times that I counted and stayed down before getting up and carrying on, all looked like very innocuous challenges.

Taking it to the extreme Brewster believed in fitness so much that he neglected a lot of other important parts of training but maybe it would be interesting to see what his injury record was like. I am no way saying we go down this route again as it is about striking a balance between the two but maybe our balance isn't quite there at the moment.

[Libero]

Im sure we used to have a fintess coach a few seasons ago IIRC, maybe about time we got another one

What is good about fitness coaches nowadays is that their remit is not only to get players fit but it is also to keep them fit and also free of injury, would be a welcome addition to the coaching team if you ask me

[Renegade]

Wasn't Richard Hastings' brother the fitness coach?

Edited August 25, 2011 by Renegade

[Libero]

Wasn't Richard Hastings' brother the fitness coach?

I think he was at one point.

We also had Stevie Campbell as a fitness coach for a while before he moved to Dundee United. It wasnt for long though, think he may have moved to DUFC when Brewster moved there

[caleyrule]

Greg Tansey also injured and thats why he didnt play last night, aint sure how long he is out for though

[caleyboy]

Wasn't Richard Hastings' brother the fitness coach?

I think he was at one point.

We also had Stevie Campbell as a fitness coach for a while before he moved to Dundee United. It wasnt for long though, think he may have moved to DUFC when Brewster moved there

He was the U19 coach, not a fitness coach.

[Libero]

Wasn't Richard Hastings' brother the fitness coach?

I think he was at one point.

We also had Stevie Campbell as a fitness coach for a while before he moved to Dundee United. It wasnt for long though, think he may have moved to DUFC when Brewster moved there

He was the U19 coach, not a fitness coach.

I think i may be getting confused with Peter Davidson

[KingBeastie]

Peter Davidson was the fitness coach with Brewster.

I liked him better when he was Dr.Who.

[Renegade]

I saw Hayes today all slinged up.

Saw Cox and Proctor the other week too - they looked fine.

[Alex MacLeod]

There does seem to be problems with injury, and not just our team, but what is different in training now to what was done in the past? I'm sure the players have fitness coaches that work with them when in the gym. I'm also sure that the on field training is pretty much the same as its always been. The matches have always been played at pace but actual physical contact is less than in the past. So, assuming that the training and playing regimes are not to blame, and I'm sure many experts will back that side up, then there are a couple of other possibilities.

Diet.......We are all, generally, eating more 'healthily' nowadays. Cutting out the things the experts say are bad for us and only eating what they say are good. Are people, as a result of this, missing out on nutrients that strengthen our bodies. So called 'energy drinks' and 'energy supplements' are a big part of a sportsman's regime nowadays. Are these giving sportsmen a false sense of fitness? i.e the caffeine highs masking the true development of the muscles?

Boots... Are the modern football boots designed for fashion or purpose? Do they give the right support and balance or are they worn because they look good?

[CaleyD]

I think players are just getting soft. In days gone by when players had to live on a normal wage and fend for themselves in the real world they were made of tougher stuff. Now with inflated wages it's all salons instead of barbers, training seems to include nonsense like massages, jacuzzi's, steam rooms etc and they get signed off for breaking a nail.

A little less pampering would go a long way to improving things.

[KingBeastie]

Saw Cox and Proctor the other week too - they looked fine.

There's a joke in there somewhere I know it...

[old caley girl]

I think players are just getting soft. In days gone by when players had to live on a normal wage and fend for themselves in the real world they were made of tougher stuff. Now with inflated wages it's all salons instead of barbers, training seems to include nonsense like massages, jacuzzi's, steam rooms etc and they get signed off for breaking a nail.

A little less pampering would go a long way to improving things.

Bet youll not be shouting that from the rafters at our stadium anytime soon!

[CaleyD]

You really don't know me that well do you!!!

[Granty24]

Jonny said on Twitter that it's his shoulder ligament that have gone so it's not a dislocation... Don't know whether that means he'll be out for longer or not as long though?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Yon theory about injuries due to a badly planned pre season is a very good point - plus the fact that we had people coming in to training at different fitness levels and probably desperate to make an impression.

In my humble opinion I feel that the entire preparation for this season was woeful - We appear to have been really caught out by the early start and that in itself is amateurish. If you dismantle a squad at the end of one season you should have then you have to have a feckin good idea as to how and who you are going to replace them with - lets face it some of our signings were reactive and last minute - it can take weeks to bond.

And I feel that the biggets gaffe of all was Adam Rooney - were they expecting him to stay - I would have thought that we would have identified 2-3 replacement options half way through last season and would have been chasing them as soon as last season ended. That was the one position that we all expected to be the hardest to replace and we appear to not to have planned properly for the eventuality.

[AJS]

Heard Tansey should be fit for Saturday.

[Yngwie]

In my humble opinion I feel that the entire preparation for this season was woeful - We appear to have been really caught out by the early start and that in itself is amateurish. If you dismantle a squad at the end of one season you should have then you have to have a feckin good idea as to how and who you are going to replace them with - lets face it some of our signings were reactive and last minute - it can take weeks to bond.

Indeed. Terry was complaining to the press in July that the early start to the season was ridiculous and none of the teams were ready. Wrong Terry, you weren't ready, none of the others seem to have had much trouble with it. Everyone knew the date months ago and got their teams assembled and prepared accordingly.

[davie]

Ywingie, I think that Celtic, Rangers, Dundee United and hearts would disagree with you. The early start was designed to help them, and them only and they seem to have royally fecked it up. It's amazing how many people think that Grantie and Russell Duncan would have made all the difference to the start we've had. mince - with this run of injuries they would not have made a jot of difference. The only one that we really miss is Adam Rooney, but could we afford to pay him his reputed £10K a week? Think not. As for injuries, how can you blame the training. It's a contact sport and generally, if you get hurt it's bad luck or malice. You might occasionally get someone prone (Proctor/ hamstring comes to mind) but the rest? pure ill fortune. It'll get better.

Edited August 25, 2011 by davie